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Skeletons at the Feast | |||||||
 
| 80% Recommended by our customers. Publisher: Shaye Areheart Books Catalog: Book Release date: 2008-05-06 Media: Hardcover Number of pages: 384 Ean: 9780307394958 Book Isbn: 0307394956  Tip: compare prices with similar booksAuthor:
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In January 1945, in the waning months of World War II, a small group of people begin the longest journey of their lives: an attempt to cross the remnants of the Third Reich, from Warsaw to the Rhine if necessary, to reach the British and American lines. Among the group is eighteen-year-old Anna Emmerich, the daughter of Prussian aristocrats. There is her lover, Callum Finella, a twenty-year-old Scottish prisoner of war who was brought from the stalag to her family’s farm as forced labor. And there is a twenty-six-year-old Wehrmacht corporal, who the pair know as Manfred–who is, in reality, Uri Singer, a Jew from Germany who managed to escape a train bound for Auschwitz. As they work their way west, they encounter a countryside ravaged by war. Their flight will test both Anna’s and Callum’s love, as well as their friendship with Manfred–assuming any of them even survive. Perhaps not since The English Patient has a novel so deftly captured both the power and poignancy of romance and the terror and tragedy of war. Skillfully portraying the flesh and blood of history, Chris Bohjalian has crafted a rich tapestry that puts a face on one of the twentieth century’s greatest tragedies–while creating, perhaps, a masterpiece that will haunt readers for generations. |
| User Reviews: |
 Written on July 2, 2008 Summary: One of the Best Books I've Ever Read This book, by the author of "Midwife", was a total surprise to me- I have read many books on the Holocaust, and he has managed to write a book that includes the horrors of that time and tells of things in such a way that he includes the perspective and stories of a variety of people during that time and how life was for those in the camps, as well as for some of those outside the camps. He doesn't spare the telling of any awful acts of man's inhumanity to man(woman), but yet the book is so very readable. He has done a superlative job. The writing is so good that I felt I was actually there in the story. He taught me some different ways to think about that period that I hadn't thought of on my own, especially about those far away from the camps. A miraculous book, even with all the profound, prolific tragedy of that horrific time. I can't recommend this book more highly than I do. It is one of my alltime favorite books and I am sorry I'm finished with it, as I so loved reading his writing. Five stars? I'd give it ten if I could. This book serves as another telling of that hellatious time in history, so that it won't be forgotten, and does so in a completely new, award-worthy way. Written on July 1, 2008 Summary: Unforgettable... Chris Bohjalian rebounds after a somewhat disappointing THE DOUBLE BIND with SKELETONS AT THE FEAST, a beautifully written, unforgettable story of survival during the last days of World War II. While on the surface, the book seems a bit atypical for Bohjalian, he incorporates a great deal of the types of themes he has used in other books (love, family) and does so quite effectively by creating such rich, well-defined, intriguing characters. This is a dark story, but there is hope in it. Yes, there are some disturbing things in this book, but these things are written to bring to life the true horrors of WWII and to give credence to the story. After all, war is not pretty. Bojalian is one of my favorite authors and I recommend this book highly. If your unfamiliar with his other books, I also recommend THE BUFFALO SOLDIER. Written on June 26, 2008 Summary: skeletons at the feast A very enjoyable read. I cared about the characters and what happened to them. I regret having to finish the book. Written on June 24, 2008 Summary: Hauntingly beautiful read I could not put this book down. It was beautifully written and terribly sad and haunting. I am recommending it to my friends and family. I intend to read more books by this author.  Written on June 24, 2008 Summary: Just Misses Greatness I'm a huge Bohjalian fan. His greatest asset has been to get right inside the head of his characters so the reader is right there with him or her. Although this book had very good characters it seemed that this time Bohjalian, and therefore the reader, were observers rather than participants. The book follows two groups as Germany is falling in the east to the Russians at the end of WWII. One is a family of Prussian aristocrats fleeing their home in Poland (which they as Germans never accepted) as the Russians advance. With them is a Scottish POW with whom the daughter has fallen in love. Later a Jew passing himself off as a German soldier as he looks for his family joins them. The other group is of female Jewish labor camp survivors being led west, again just ahead of the Russians. The privations of both are chronicled in detail and occasionally gruesomeness. There is not much unique about the plight of the labor camp survivors. The depiction is graphic, but somehow, the reader can not get invested (everything cannot be Weisel's "Night"). The family and Uri, the Jew posing as a German who attaches himself to them, are much more unique. The slow realization of the mother and daughter as to why "we are so hated" is interesting to watch. Only when they cross paths with the labor camp victims do they truly understand. The life of Uri as he changes identities to stay alive would have made a great novel in and of itself. Here it is merely tangential but still interesting as he is faced with the conflict of dressing as SS to try and find his family (he escaped from a prison train and they did not). There is plenty of guilt to go around. Uri feels guilty for leaving his family and masquerading to find them. The family takes it sweet time feeling the guilt it should have felt as Germans whose naivete allowed Hitler to go on without questioning by his nation. They are symbolic of the entire German population. The POW feels guilty for getting such a cush life out of the war (he never fired a shot and got hooked up with this family). But mostly, the book is about survival in a unique time in history from the viewpoint of the vanquished. The book was a fairly unique way of making the common argument - the Germans chose not to see the atrocities going on around them until the Reich was falling. The author tries to bring the human element into it. These Prussians had a good life up until the end and had no reason to believe the rumors even when evidence of the atrocities was close by. Watching the light slowly dawn was interesting. Bohjalian is a fine writer and the writing is very good. Somehow, though, I did not become invested in the characters even as good as some of them were. Although I enjoyed this book, I thought it just missed being something truly unique and special. It was good, but not great. |
| Comparison map |
| Wondering how the book "Skeletons at the Feast" relates to similar books? Find out at a glance here: |
| Price comparison |
 Skeletons at the Feast |
 Change of Heart: A Novel |
 The Third Angel: A Novel |
 The Story of Edgar Sawtelle: A Novel |
 The Senator's Wife |
 The Double Bind (Vintage Contemporaries) |
| Our price | $10.00 | $17.79 | $16.50 | $15.57 | $16.47 | $10.17 |
| List price | $25.00 | $26.95 | $25.00 | $25.95 | $24.95 | $14.95 |
| Lowest used price | $7.94 | $9.00 | $11.50 | $15.50 | $6.49 | $4.59 |
| Lowest new price | $10.00 | $9.85 | $11.99 | $15.24 | $7.90 | $6.00 |
| Collectible price | $55.00 | $26.95 | $39.99 | $49.00 | $24.95 | $20.00 |
| Catalog | Book | Book | Book | Book | Book | Book |
| Release date | 2008-05-06 | 2008-03-04 | 2008-04-08 | 2008-06-10 | 2008-01-08 | 2008-02-12 |
| Media | Hardcover | Hardcover | Hardcover | Hardcover | Hardcover | Paperback |
| Number of pages | 384 | 464 | 288 | 576 | 320 | 416 |
| Ean | 9780307394958 | 9780743496742 | 9780307393852 | 9780061374227 | 9780307264206 | 9781400031665 |
| Book Isbn | 0307394956 | 0743496744 | 0307393852 | 0061374229 | 0307264203 | 1400031664 |
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